I lived in historic San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico for one month during my 2004 sabbatical. San Miguel is famous for its art schools, large art community and the home of the Mexican revolution. The town has the largest percentage of north american residents in Mexico (3-5% of pop. 75,000) and while they are active, this is a Mexican town, period. I arrived in San Miguel during the month of fiestas that follow the Sept. 16 Grito. The neighbors blasted fireworks nearly every night and the marching band played every morning in my neighborhood, Colonia Caracol. And true to its name (caracol= snail/spiral), the neighborhood sat at the top of a maze of winding cobblestone streets with a view of the town to the north.

Towards the end of my trip, I joined my family in Guadalajara. My grandparents were the only members of our family to move from Michoacan to the U.S. and so, we never knew our Mexican family. This was our homecoming. Armed with only my deceased great grandfather's address, we were able to find my great uncle and great great aunt. This was a once in a lifetime journey!

9.17.2004–10.15.2004